Machine for measuring and compressing powders.



APPLICATION FILED MAR.13. I912.

I 6 M w w n 4 n M M a d e m t Z a do P w H m N v ANN Avv THE COLUMBIA LAgzomuPI-i 60., WASHINGTON, n. at

ISIDOR Z. GARFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO SAMUEL LOEWY,

sir are.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MACHINE FOR MEASURING AND COMPR-ESSING POW/DEBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

Application filed March 13, 1912. Serial No. 683,522,

To all whom 2'15 may concern:

Be it known that 1, lemon Z. GARFIELD, a citizen of the United States of America, resident of New York, in the borough of Manhattan, county and State of-New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Measuring and Compressing Powders,.of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved machine for measuring and compressing powders, such as sedlitz powders, Rochelle salts and other powders for medicinal use by which the powders are compacted by pressure into the form of round square or oblong cakes and retained in this shape until they are inclosed or packaged into wrappers; and for this purpose the invention consists of a machine for measuring and compressing powders into cakes which comprises means for feeding intermittently the powder in uniform quantities to an intermittently-rotatable drum provided with compressing cylinders and pistons in the same, and means for successively actuating said pistons for delivering the compressed cakes and returning the pistons into position for the neXt charge and compression of the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l representsa front-elevation of my improved machine for measuring and compressing powders into cakes, Fig. 2 is a vertical longi tudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 a planview of Fig. 1 with the hopper removed, and Fig. l a detail side-view of the adjusting mechanism for the powder-supplying brushes.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the severalfig v ures of the drawings.

The improved machine consists of a feedhopper for the pow ler, brushes for supplying uniform quantities of powder to compression-spaces, and a compressing drum provided with compression-cylinders and adjustable, intermittently actuated pistons. In

the feed-hopper H is placed the powder which has to be compressed into regulable quantities. Any suitable medicinal powder. may be measured and compressed by the ma.- ohine, but it is more especially intended for about midway of its height a rotary agitator h, the arms of which keep the powder in motion, break up any lumps and prevent the clogging of the same.

receives an intermittent rotary motion by suitable power-transmitting mechanism from the driving-shafts S of the machine. At the lower end of the hopper H is arranged a box-shaped delivery-portion H in which is arranged a second transverse shaft k which is preferably made of square shape at the inside of the box-shaped portion h and which is provided on each of its sides with brushes k The brush-shaft 72, receives like the stirrer-shaft 7L1 intermittent rotary motion so that the brushes are moved over a horizontal screen h which is supported on suitable cleats h at the bottom of the box-shaped portion H so as to feed a uniform quantity of powder into the space below the screen and deliver it through a central opening 0 of round, square or oblong shape in the bottom of the box-shaped portion H into cor responding openings 0 arranged in the circumference of a cylindrical drum D which is located below the hopper and to which intermittent rotary motion is imparted from the driving-shaft S. By the motion of the drum D, one opening 0 after the other is brought into register with the delivery opening 0 in the bottom of the box-shaped portion H In the drawing, the drum D is arranged with six openings, but it is obvious that any for returning the pistons into their initial The stirrer-shaft h position for receiving the next quantity of powder through the feed-opening 0 in the lower box-shaped portion of the hopper. The shape of the cylinder and pistons corresponds to the shape of the feed-openings o and 0 Each compressing cylinder (Z is provided sidewise of the piston-rod (Z with a stop-screw (Z by which the inward adjustment of the piston is regulated and the same held in a fixed position when receiving the powder delivered to the cylinder. The positions of the stop-screws (Z are adjusted according to the quantity of powder which is to be delivered to the piston and the degree of compression to be imparted to the cakes. The quantity of powder to be delivered to each compressing cylinder of the drum D is furthermore regulated by raising the brush-shaft 7L into a somewhat higher or lower position in the box-shaped portion k by means of two exterior plates 72, located at opposite sides of the box-shaped portion H which plates are pivoted at one end of the side-wall of the box H and provided with bearings for the ends of the shaft if. The shaft k is guided in slots 0 of the side-walls of the box-shaped portion H The opposite end of each pivotplate h is provided with an arc-shaped recess 7L through which is passed a clamping. screw it, as shown in Fig. 1, for permitting the vertical adjustment of the plates h and shaft if and thereby the more effective feedaction of the brushes 7& on the powder in the box-shaped portion H and the delivery of a smaller or larger quantity of powder through the feed-openings 0 into the cylinderrZ thenbelow the opening 0. The adjusting plates are arranged at opposite sides of the box-shaped portion H so as to set thereby the shaft of the feedebrushes at both ends slightly higher or lower relatively to the screen if. The feed-brushes 11, force the powder with a variable pressure through the meshes of the screen h and feed after proper adjustment a uniform quantity of powder through the same. The exact quantity required is fed to each compressioncylinder of the drum D so that after the feed-brushes on the one hand and the pistons on the other hand are properly ad-' justed, so that these measuring devices operate with an accuracy equal to weighing devices. For some powders, especially for pulverized. crystalline powder, such as tartaric acid, the screen can be dispensed with, as they are not liable to clog and move freely and easily under the pressure of the brushes to and through the feed-opening, while for impalpable powders, such as sodium bicarbonate, it is preferable to use the screen and force the powder through the meshes of the same.

Intermittent rotary motion is imparted to the drum D and simultaneously to the shaft of the agitator and feed-brushes from the driving-shaft S by means of a pinion p on the same, which pinion meshes with a gearwheel 79 that is mounted on a short intermediate shaft S said shaft being supported in j ournal-bearings of the supporting-frame. A wrist-pin p on theigear-wheel p is con.- nected with the outer end of a cranlnarm p by a pivot-rod p with a crank-arm p on a shaft S which is likewise supported in journal-bearings of the supporting-frame of the machine. On the shaft S is mounted a ratchet-wheel p which is provided with as many teeth and recesses as there are compressing-cylinders in the drum, the recesses of the ratchet-wheel being engaged by a spring-actuated pawl 72 on the outer end of: the crank-arm p and by a check-pawl 30'";

A second crank arm p is mounted on the shaft S and connected by a pivot-rod p with a crank-arm 79 and by a pawl 19 at the end of the pivot-rod p with a ratchetwheel 79 keyed to the shaft S of the drum D, so that by the intermediate pawl and ratchet-wheel mechanisms and crank connections, an intermittent rotary motion equal to 1/6th drum is imparted to the same and thereby one compressing-cylinder after the other fed into register with the feed-opening in the bottom of th box-shaped hopperportion H.

On the intermediate shaft is mounted sidewise of the ratchet-wheel 71 a gear wheel p which meshes with a pinion 72 on the short shaft 2 bearings of the machine-frame. On the shaft 79 is keyed a sprocket-wheel p which transmits by a sprocket-chain p and wheel 2 18 7L of the feed-brushes and by another sprocket-wheel and chain transmission 10 72 to the shaft 71,1 in Fig. 1. motiontransmitting mechanism is supported an inclined block 13, the concave face of which is concentric with the drum D and forms contact with the circumference face of the drum, closes thereby throughout the rotation of the drum the opening o of the same which is, at the time in register'with the face of the block B. This block B serves to hold the of the circumference of the intermittent rotary motion to the shaft as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and

which is supported in i of the agitator h, as shown On the sun )ortm -frame for the charge of powder supplied to the openings which is pivoted to a wrist-pin b on a crank raresti disk" I) placed on the shaft [9 of" the piston has completed one-sixth part of its rot'atio'n' which commences with the registering of the first cylinder with the feed-opening of the hopper. WVhen the drum is moved for the next one-sixth of its rotation, the compressed cake of powder is held without any further action in its cylinder while at the end of the third one-sixth part of the rotation of the cylinder the cake arrives at a point diametrically opposite to the feed-opening 0 and is delivered onto a wrapper placed below the drum on the base-plate of the machine, by the action of a curved pusher e which forms the upper arm of an elbow-lever e that is pivoted to a standard 6 attached to the baseplate of the machine. The elbow-lever e is connected at its apex by a pivot-rod c with the wrist-pin b on the crank-disk 6* so as to be operated at the proper time whenever one of the compressing cylinders arrives at the end of the third one-sixth part of the rotation of the drum. The pusher 6 acts on the piston-rod (Z and pushes the piston (Z clownward and delivers the cake from the cylinders to the wrapper. During the next onesixth part of the rotation of the drum D, the piston remains in its forward position in the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2, while after the fifth one-sixth part of the rotation of the drum D, the piston d is returned into its normal position at the inside'of the cylinder into contact with its stop-screw d by a pusher-lever f which is fulcrumed to an upright standard f on the base of the supporting-frame, said pusher-lever being provided with an arm f that extends inwardly into the cylinder so as to contact with the piston of the same and return the piston into its initial position ready to receive the next charge when the drum arrives at the end of the last one-sixth part of its rotation in register with the feed-opening of the boxshaped portion H The lower end of the fulcrumed pusher-lever f is connected by a pivot-rod f with the wrist-pin b on the crank-disk b so that the pusher-lever is actuated at each full rotation of the crankdisk. During the next rotation of the drum the same steps, namely, feeding the powder, compressing it into a cake, delivering it onto a wrapper, and returning the piston, are successively repeated for each rotation of the drum and as many cakes of powder delivered as there are compressing cylinders in the drum.

As some of the powder is carried along tuated by from the feed op'ening o on the exteriorsurfacepfjthediumD; aseacli cylitiderpasse's beyjondfthe fee'd opening-"of the box-shaped portionH a scraper gfis arranged in contact with the" surface" of; the cylinder D, the upper end of the scraper"being attached to the" end-wall of the box-shaped portion H By means of thescrapenany adhering powder is removedfrom the surface'of the" drum and delivered over the side-edges of the drum to a suitable receptacle without being conducted into the narrow space between the compressing cylinders d and the compressing block B so that not the slightest increase in the quantity of powder in the compression-space between the cylinder and block can take place. At one side of the hopper h is arranged a spring-actuated knocker h", the spring-arm of which isacthe sprocket-wheel on the shaft if. The blows of the knocker on the lower part of the hopper shake up the powder and deliver it freely to the feed-brushes. When the powder is thus compressed into cakes of round, square or oblong shape onto the wrappers, they are transferred with the wrappers to side and end-folding devices and inclosed in the wrappers, as usual in sedlitz-powders, the shape of the cake being retained until the end-folding of the wrappers takes place. The cake-form of the powder prevents any escape and loss of powder while they are going through the side and end-folding operations. The cakes are crushed and returned into powder-form when the closing action of the end-folds takes placeso that the wrapped up powders assume the regular flat shape for use.

I claim:

1. A machine for compressing powders, comprising a feed-hopper having a boxshaped portion at its lower end and a feedopening in the same, rotary feed-brushes in the lower part of the feed-hopper for supplying a uniform quantity of powder to said opening, a distributing screen below said brushes, an intermittently-rotating drum provided with openings in itscircumference registering with said feed-opening,

cylinders at the interior of said drum in line with the openings of the same, pistons in said cylinders, and successively-operated means for compressing the powder in the cylinders, delivering the cakes formed thereby, and returning the pistons to their initial positions for permitting the refilling of the cylinders.

52. In a machine for compressing powders into cakes, the combination of a supplyhopper provided with a lower box-shaped portion and a feed-opening in the same, a screen in the lower portion of the hopper, a shaft provided with feed-brushes, means for imparting intermittent rotary motion to said brush-shaft, means for regulating the position of the brush-shaft relatively to the as my invention, I have signed my name in feed-Cppening, and an intermittently-rotatpresence of two subscribing Witnesses. ing rum provided with compressin cylinders and pistons and means for act ating ISIDOR GARFIELD" c said pistons, compressing the powder and Witnesses: '7 delivering the cakes. PAUL GonPnL,

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing JOHN MURTAGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O. 

